Mark Henry

[7.0] "Wrestlers need something special. The things that made Mark Special weren't the in-ring acumen, or the mic skills (both of which were serviceable to good), but were rather his intensity, physical presence, and otherworldly strength. When he entered the ring, the crowd sat up and watched. Sure, he did stupid stuff like everything with May Young, but that has to be weighed against the 'Hall of Pain', and all the crazy feats of strength."

[6.0] "While I acknowledge that he is the strongest man in the world, I was never a fan of his in-ring skills; his mic work ranged from acceptable to good, and his strength was unmatched. His career was solid--especially the "Hall of Pain" era, which was absolutely amazing."

[10.0] "I was once a Mark Henry denier, like many were in the 00s. Like many, I was turned around by the "Hall of Pain" but that was just the beginning, the more I look back at this man's career, the more obvious it is that he was severely underrated due to the preference in his peak era for smaller, faster athletes. He was not always perfect but he delivered far more than he was given credit for, and at his best he was actually really incredible, and his rating clearly deserves a bump. He overcame many obstacles and ended up with a great big man career, any accolades are well deserved."

"I recently did some research on Mark Henry and was shocked to learn he wrestled for 22 years. Twenty-Two years without a single memorable match, promo, feud, segment, or anything. That is a remarkable dedication to failure. Then, as it turned out, he's an even bigger failure as a human being. His never-ending support of Vince and victim-blaming is disgusting. While wrestling is subjective, I would love for someone to point me to a Mark Henry match that was not the worst match of the night on any card he ever wrestled. The match that cemented this was his match with KURT ANGLE at the 2006 Royal Rumble. I did not think Kurt was capable of a bad match...Then I watched this debacle. He wrestled many other amazing workers: Undertaker, Michaels, Jericho, Brock (when motivated, I feel obligated to put that asterisk there lol) and all of them, at best, are mediocre and span his entire career, whether it's his "prime" or when he was an "aging veteran." Mark Henry was consistently bad at professional wrestling."

[8.0] "Many might have forgotten that Mark Henry didn't come from a wrestling background. Often when people come from sports, they fail epicly in WWE. Henry on the other hand had a great long run and he constantly got better. During his final matches in the company. He was just as good as the other main eventers."

[7.0] "Sometimes, you can ignore the past if the current is really fucking good, and thats what Mark Henry's the perfect example of. He had an insane run in the 2010s, and was a highlight of wrestling overall. Such a shame that his earlier runs were pretty bad. WSM was a very good gimmick, with the perfect person to portray said gimmick."

[7.0] "The most underrated big man in WWE history, great skill for his size, the lack of titles does not prevent him from being a Hall of Famer in his own right."

[6.0] "It's astounding how for many years, Mark Henry was seen as a flop who never reached the potential the WWE saw in him. For over a decade, Henry was only just kinda there but never stood out in positive ways.. But the Hall of Pain run was good enough for the perception of him to finally change. In a sense, he is a late bloomer, as it's only in 2011 that we saw Mark Henry be truly captivating as a character and perform well as a dominant powerhouse. A shame it didn't happen earlier."

[5.0] "Unfortunately just a largely forgettable talent in almost every regard. I say unfortunately because Mark seems like a legitimately nice, decent man. He just wasn't born to be a pro-wrestler. He came into the WWF with so much legit pedigree as a freakish strongman. For some reason Vince thought he should have made him a proto-Kurt Angle with an All American gimmick, instead of a proto-Brock Lesnar monster which is what he should have been. Mark did have a nice smile that made you think he could be a likable babyface, but the main drawback is that he wasn't good at wrestling or cutting promos so no one was going to get behind him. Then they bounced him around with a few different gimmicks, being a henchman in the Nation of Domination where they put all the black wrestlers they couldn't get over or didn't know what to do with. Then there was Sexual Chocolate, yeah. Eventually Mark got decent in the ring. I stress decent, because in single matches he was still just so devoid of anything that stood out or made you sit up and take notice. His Hall of Pain run was definitely the best part of his career and produced some notable matches and moments. His "retirement" segment is probably the best and most memorable moment of his career, and he showed an exception mastery of controlling the emption of the crowd in that promo. Where was that his whole career? Well either way it was incredible, you gotta give Mark props for that. But the entirety of his career is just middle of the road when taken as a whole. He should have been someone who was booked like a monster from early on and really taught how to work that style, leveraging his strength to create someone that could be a formidable mountain for the Stone Colds, Rocks, Randy Ortons, Triple Hs, and John Cenas of the WWE to climb. Instead he was exposed and booked as a joke for too much of his early career to have any real credibility as a monster later on, outside of one run. And he just progressed at such a snail's pace that it wasn't until the end of his career we saw him get any good."

[10.0] "Very likely the big guy with the greatest presence I've ever known. His theme was incredible, and he didn't need to be amazing in the ring to be entertaining. On top of that, from what I've seen in videos of him when he was younger, he was very good in that area as well. The site isn't happy because my original comment isn't long enough. So I'm now writing just to fill space, without really saying anything. I still hope it gets approved and that this policy will be changed."

[7.0] "rating referring mostly to the hall of pain era cause that's what I grew up watching. Although his workrate might have not been the best he had insane aura and quite good athleticism for that size and age. plus his theme song was sung by three six mafia which grants him one extra point. gotta boost the rating somewhat, he was never that bad"

[7.0] "Mark Herny is a hell of a character and a hell of a competitor. He was legitimately the world's strongest man, and left to re-prove that, and vince mcmahon told him "there is no place in WWE for the world's second strongest man" and he only went and won it again"

[2.0] "Mark Henry, the "World's Strongest Man, " is obviously physically very impressive. His strength and power were never in question; however, his in-ring ability and charisma were not ever close to the level of a top WWE star. I, however, stopped watching prior to 2005, so his highlight was fathering a hand. Based on his Olympic performance, WWE signed him to a 10-year deal! In my opinion, he struggled to justify that investment for many years. Henry's matches were slow and plodding, often lacking the fluidity or psychology expected of top-tier performers. His work rate paled in comparison to his peers, and it took him far too long to develop into a competent in-ring competitor. Even then, his matches remained formulaic, relying heavily on basic power spots with little variety. HE came across as a midcarder at best, getting an awkward push. But that was often done. Character work was terrible, and the sexual chocolate and the Mae Young stuff were bad even for the time. a genuine world's strongest man, and this never seemed to be the focus. He was there long after I stopped watching. He left after many years and joined AEW, which seemed to of been a mistake on both parts. He brought nothing to the table I could see, and from his comments, since he obviously thought he should have been used "better", although I am not sure what at, he was never good on the mic, lacked charisma and as I mentioned above, his in-ring work seemed mid-card at best. Personality-wise wise he never comes across great and seems like another bitter vet who was owed more than he deserved, but got more than he warranted IMHO. Some recent shocking comments about various indie stuff. Poor, didn't add anything to any company he has worked for, from what I saw."

[10.0] "Mark Henry had one of the most unique career arcs in WWE history. Early on he struggled to find his footing, but through perseverance and reinvention he became one of the most legitimate powerhouses in the business. His "Hall of Pain" run stands out as one of the best monster heel stretches of the modern era, with Henry delivering convincing beatdowns and intense promos that finally matched his immense physical presence. While not known for technical flair, his sheer power and presence made his big matches feel like events. When booked right, few felt more believable as a dominant force. His best work was truly great and his longevity and impact are commendable. #salmonsuit"

[8.0] "So many fond memories watching Mark Henry - Will repeat what has been already said, he is one of the most believable monsters in history. He lived his gimmick in real life & is far more deserving for a better rating than what is issued to him on here..."

[8.0] "Come on 5.27? Mark was one of the most believable big men in wrestling history. The worlds strongest man was not a nickname at a time he quite literally was. Add on to that one of the best promos and runs with hall of pain ever and being one of the most reliable ever he is way to underappreciated"

[8.0] "Mark Henry's career is one of longevity, power, and evolution. He may not have been the most technically gifted in the ring, but when it came to presence, believability, and sheer strength, he delivered. His "Hall of Pain" run was the best work of his career and proved he could be a dominant world champion when booked right. Earlier stints like "Sexual Chocolate" showed his range, even if it was more comedic. He wasn't everyone's favorite style-wise, but you can't deny his contributions and lasting impact. Definitely underrated by many fans."

[4.0] "His best work came in 2011 and a brief period in 2013. Everything else was very much below average. He could barely move, couldn't cut a promo, except for the fake retirement but one doesn't make you great. I also really disliked his plea to Martha Hart for Owen to be inducted. I understand that Mark Henry was close with Harts but that's not the time or the place. Especially considering how she felt about WWE. It was a low blow and low class move by him."

[8.0] "Mark Henry is one of the greatest big men in WWE history. He had an amazing gimmick and he literally WAS the worlds strongest man. He was amazing in and out of the ring. He's a massive inspiration to me and many others. Love this guy. His Hall of Pain gimmick was incredible. I loved it and many many others loved it. His feud with Big Show (Paul Wight) was really good. It's sad that his World Heavyweight title reign wasn't all too memorable. He got a pretty good pop when he won it though. He then proceeded to tell the crowd to "Shut up" which was amazing."

[6.0] "Somewhat of a challenge to rate, given that his over 20 year wrestling career was mostly as a midcarder of little importance until his Hall of Pain run turned it around, then afterward Henry fell back to jobber status. But what a run it was! Hall of Pain showed what could have been if Mark had managed to "get it" early in his career. But just because Hall of Pain was amazing, it's unfair to rate Mark's 22 year wrestling career based solely on that relatively short run. Mark's character work was stellar during Hall of Pain but mostly below average prior to that. Mark was mostly just a big body in the Nation, and Sexual Chocolate was a bad joke. In terms of wrestling ability, Mark was a power guy that, at least during Hall of Pain, knew how to use his superior size and strength to tell a story in the ring. But for several years prior, Mark struggled to figure out how to work, which is why he was sent back to training more than once. I give Hall of Pain a 9/10, but only a 3/10 for the rest of his career. Overall, I grade Mark on a curve at a 6/10."

[8.0] "(Sorry english is not my first language) I still remember Mark Henry being truly funny and enterteiming and i thins his hall of pain run is one of the most underrated run in WWE history, but also i can say expect this they never use gimmick of world strongest men i mean i know the person who won mostly (5 time) world strongest man is Mariusz Pudzianowski but for what they give him that gimmick if they dont want to use that"

[7.0] "The World's Strongest Man isn't just a gimmick for Mark Henry, it was his real life. Mark Henry is one of the most underrated and undervalued big guys in WWE history. He was able to do things that no one else on the roster could do (bend frying pans, move 2 semi trucks with just his body, etc). He had one of the most dominant runs in WWE during his Hall of Pain run which is arguably his best run in WWE. He also had a fun run as Sexual Chocolate during the attitude era before getting set to OVW to lose weight. He should've accomplished more in terms of titles won, but he is a legend."

[7.0] "I may be bias because he was my favourite wrestler as a kid (I'm absolutely bias), I also didn't see life his first and worst years, so maybe I don't take those in consideration as much as I should. Anyway, he was a great and badass powerhouse, absolutely legitimate because of his background, I would probably not be a big fan if he wrestled today, but as a kid? He was a monster to me that should won every match. When he finally had a real big push with his Hall of Pain run I think he truly delivered. There is still a Wii SD vs Raw game when he has every single belt, by the way."

[5.0] "Reeealllly rough start to his career, but the later years of his career were brilliant. After a decade, he all-of-the- sudden just "got it." I'd probably give 1 star to the first stretch of his career, with a gradual increase towards a 7/8 during his twilight years. I'm a huge fan of Mark Henry, but he was a big part of some truly awful stuff, both in-ring and in sketches."

[5.0] "I think many people tend to positively re-evaluate almost every wrestler who ends his career. However, no pun, Mark Henry was mid. He sucked in his first days even if he was part of a famous stable and was entertaining as Sexual Chocolate (except for the Hand segment) due to our trash taste, not because he was particularly talented. When he came back in 2006 he was a bit improved but his bad in ring performances didn't convince Vince to truly push him, and was relegated in ECW. From 2011 to 2013 he reached the apex of his potential and then he became a jobber. As a performer, he was slow as a snail and clearly inferior to other giants like Undertaker, Big Show and Kane in spite of his huge strenght, for the rest he was decent."

[7.0] "Deserves a considerably higher rating just for the salmon jacket promo alone. Always fun and entertaining throughout his career, the Hall of Pain run was excellent, he was a great midcard talent with a lot of charisma."

[4.0] "Mark Henry as a wrestler is not very good. He's a big guy, but can't really do much other than the usual big guy stuff. I.e powerslams and whatnot. Would be a good opponent for smaller guys, but the minute you put him in a match against the likes of Kane, Undertaker, etc., you just knew it would stink the joint out. Promo wise, he's quite good. Even back as sexual chocolate he was pretty entertaining and had some charisma. The highlight of his career was the "retirement" promo he did on Raw. No doubts about it, Mark Henry did a fantastic job with that promo. The issue however, is that Mark Henry is not, and never has been, main event level. So whilst he did generate a lot of talk for that promo, nothing was ever going to come out of it. He's not good enough to be WWE Champion, so in the end it was just a very, very small moment of popularity for an overwise very below average wrestler. Had an absolute banger of a theme, so I'll give him that... even though he didn't have anything to do with it."

[7.0] "Criminally underrated for most of his career. I feel he should have won the World Title in 2006 instead of 2011, and I also feel the Hall of Pain would have been a better fit for that time compared to 2011. But I am glad he got his flowers, and I am glad that he won the World Title."

[8.0] "I don't think I get the low rating here. Mark has solid promo skills, really good in the ring, and able to pull feats of strength that prettty much no other superstars can do. Not to mention his total swerve of John Cena at his false retirement speech. Glad to see him get his world title run in 2011, hope this 8/10 helps his rating a little."

[7.0] "Horribly utilized for the longest time, what could have been had he been booked like Hall of Pain Henry since the beginning. Sexual Chocolate? Really Vince?"

[4.0] "I am not giving this guy a high rating just because he managed to be over for a few months after 15 years of being complete shit and the rest of his career spent as a jobber after those few months."

[8.0] "Extremely underrated. Mark Henry has made a great contribution to wrestling inside and outside of the ring. An important figure in wrestling and a proper legend. Went underrated for a long time, people might think that the hall of pain run was some surprising change, but it was just Mark Henry being the same Mark Henry he always was but was finally given some of the respect that he deserved."

[3.0] "Seine Loyalität und Treue zur Company in allen Ehren, menschlich durchaus sympathisch, für einen Pro Wrestler brachte er mir allerdings immer zu wenig mit. Ein langweiliges Gimmick, unbeweglicher Wrestlingstil und immer die gleiche Darstellung des unaufhaltsamen Bulldozers lösen bei mir keine Begeisterung aus."

[7.0] "What the hell how is Mark Henry's rating so low here? He was a great entertainer from the start, and managed to actually be pretty decent in the ring as the years went on. He managed to have good promos sometimes too and He had legit power that translated great to his matches. Sometimes y'all are too hard on big men on this site, not everyone needs to be Bryan Danielson in the ring to be considered good (no disrespect to Danielson either, they're just two different kind of wrestlers to be honest)"

[6.0] "Awfully low rating on here. I LOVED the Hall of Pain run, Henry just looked unstoppable and it produced some surprisingly good promos too. He undoubtedly kills it as a heel, as a face he simply doesn't work and uhh... sexual chocolate was terrible, just wanna throw that out there."

[7.0] "One of the worst scores on this entire site. Be ashamed. Plenty of uniquely athletic big men got dragged into the business before they were ready, but Mark Henry's winning attitude and work ethic was obvious even when he was green as hell in the Nation. I don't see the point in trashing Mark over the booking in the early part of his career - big men in WWE end up in dumb angles. Mark made a lot of those dumb angles a lot more watchable. Ten long years later, the man puts it all together and becomes one of the most effective monster heels in the biz, in all aspects. Truly a great promo guy, great squash match guy, great 15-minute TV segment guy. Obviously it's cool to be a great 20-minute PPV big match wrestler, but Mark Henry excels in short TV segments, B-show squashes and radio shows and that counts a hell of a lot more than people seem to realize. If you're some anti-sports entertainment cherry-picker of the highest rated matches Mark Henry isn't your guy, but the man has always left me sports entertained."

[8.0] "Definitely underutilized for the first decade or so. In my opinion he should have won the Battle Royal for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship in 2007 that Khali won and had his Hall of Pain gimmick earlier. People would remember his work much more fondly if he wasnt saddled with odd gimmicks or not taken seriously for as long as he was."

[7.0] "What the Big Show should've been later in his career. Not the best in the ring, but competent and had great character work during his world title runs and feuds."

[5.0] "Spotty career due to injuries. Sometimes it's great, sometimes not so much. Met him at an airport and I've never seen a human have such a difficult time making it from point a to point b and I'll never forget that. You don't forget a thing like that."

[6.0] "Did pretty much nothing of note for the first decade-plus of his career aside from the Hand Baby Incident, then inexplicably had one of the most badass world title runs of the PG era. Seems like a great guy, too."

[9.0] "Ive always been a big fan of Mark Henry. Despite being given horrible material to work with for most of his WWE run, he always tried to make it work and always had the aura of a believable killer. Truly underrated in my opinion and Hall Of Pain is especially a fantastic run most monster heels should study."

[7.0] "Started pretty badly, his best years were from 2007 to probably 2014. Not a long time period, but I still like him"

[7.0] "His Hall of Pain run was pretty good, like his short feud with John Cena at 2013. Mark Henry is the living representation about how to book a monster heel."

[6.0] "Mark Henry was never the best wrestler, and in the first 10 years of his career he was very injury prone and uncarryable to a good match. However, his Hall of Pain run on Smackdown in 2011 was really good and the best Henry was booked in his entire career by far. Booking a wrestler to his strengths does wonders..."

[7.0] "Not that bad for his size, his rating is too low ! Had some good runs in WWE (for exemple his Hall Of Pain run) but also had some bad booking making him look like a jobber at some point of his career. Pretty good promo skills, his fake retirement segment was amazing. 2006 Mark was one of the scariest superstar of the roster and his charisma during his good runs was massive. I don't really like big sized wtrestlers but Mark became some kind of a legend and I appreciate him."

[7.0] "Legend. As a competitor of his weight, he showed a lot in the WWE ring. I respect and feel sentimental."

[5.0] "Very capable big man, but due to numerous reasons, he never really broke out to become a true star. Bad booking and sluggish performances dogged Henry through most of his career, but when was given a good gimmick like the Hall of Pain, he was undeniably great. Never reached his potential, but he still had a respectable career."

[7.0] "Marks rating is way too low on here. Wasnt great in-ring, but his Hall of Pain run was amazing. Had lots of great moments, including the fake retirement speech."

[5.0] "He was a force to be reckoned with during his 2006 and Hall of Pain run, but other than that, the WWE jobbed the shit out of him."

[7.0] "Though his matches haven't always been the best, Henry has always put 100% of himself into his characters and storylines. He does his best to get his stuff over no matter how ridiculous the story may be. His Hall of Pain run was one of the best storylines of the 2010s and that Salmon suit promo was masterful. I've loved his AEW run so far. He and Paul Wight have good chemistry on commentary and Henry has been a great host for the main event promos on Rampage."